The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-06-24
HELEN LAKEMAN:
The Story Of a Young Girls Strug-
gle With Adversity.
By JOHN r. MURIcK

bx JOHN h AUBICk,
Author OF THE BANKER OF BEDFORD"
walter BRowNFIELD.- ETC
Icopyriga;, 1855. by A. N Kellogg Ntuspapsr CAl
CHAPTER XIX.
TIE PROS ,EcroR AND PEDDLER
'.Wall. may De accused o sellin'
five-cent calico fur Bingham Of l ain t
almost pegged out. This ere is the
longest tramp and f. vest sales I've
ever made in my lie. Here 1 am
among the breaks o Big Sandy. with a
pretty smart chance o stayin' all night
in the woods"
The speaker was our old friend Pete.
the pedtiler. Pete is tired and stops to
wipe the sweat off his brow. 1t is hot
day. and the sun beams down on the
dry. hard road with fearful fury. Pete
has heavy pack on his back, and as
he goes along in a half STOPPING posi-
ton. produced by long travel, he
smokes his pipe, sings snatches of
songs or communes with himself
Il might a knowed there war
nobody in these wild lands o Big
Sandy TO buy. afore l came. Pete Ped
der. yer fool for once. yer bartered
;all-wool goods for flimsev stuff that
fades; ye'd better stayed on yer own
heat dosgoned sight than come away
out here
Then he began humming his favorite
air:
Come all ye darling ladies,
Remember what my trade is
To please you I will try
"But there amt no ladies here to
please" said Pete to himself. There
amt nobody to please in the woods but
ground-hogs and minks. Jehosiphat.
ain t tired o climin' hills and crossin'
hollers. The day seems awful long.
but they amt long enough to get over
the places. wish l were up on Sandy.
BY links. must rest"
He stopped. sat his pack down by the
roadside and took seat on the green
turf by the side of it.
'.Lemme see, I've got the Big Sandy
to cross and then I'm on the old
Plumber place. That's owned by the
sshoddiest man in the whole pack. Judge
Arnold This lies West This must
be the land o Helen and Amos Lake
man. BY jingo. what 4 swindle that
was. wuss nor sellin' pewter jewelry
for gold. Them poor children cheated
out o their home worth five thousand
dollars at least. an given these hills an
hoilers not worth fifteen cents-the
whole tract. When l think o it am
just doggoned"-an he brought his
stout stick down upon the ground with
a force which made it crack.
There was a rus!ling among the
leaves at his side, and he saw snake
known as a copper-head. on account Of
the bright crest it wore. The peddler
eyed il a moment, as its brilliant little
bead-like eyes twinkled. and its fOrked
tongue Garted out of its mouth. and
said:
Now. yer Jest like that whole set,
we're deceivin' every body jest like \
bolt of shoddv muslin. Ye're irwin to
smile, We do@goned sarpint: So does
Judge Arnold. He smiles. an his in-
fernal eyes twinkle jest ike yours.
Ye're only waitin' fur chance tn bite.
an So is he. Well. l can fix We. eff l
can't him.
With one quick. sure blow from his
stick he crushed the snakes head. and
.shouldering his pack went on. leaving
it rigging among the leaves. About
-one-fourth of mile further, as Pete
was descending hill. he paused struck
with amazement. Had he been sud-
denly confronted with view of the
Atlantic Ocean he could no thave been
more surprised. There right before
him were half dozen or more tents or
shaetieS. There were wagons and
miners tools. and he could easily see
that they had been there for several
-davs. Ponderous machinery had been
erected and deep shaft sunk. while
all around the ground was black with
lead and silver ore. Floating rumors
had been abroad of lead and silver
mines in these hills Of the Big Sandy,
but no one had ever given them Gre
deuce. Pete stopped and rubbed his
eyes as if he feared it was an optical
>delusion.
'.Well. say. now-what in the name
o common sense does it mean?''
He closed his eyes again. and again
opened them-it was all there Vet. the
teams. tents. shanties and machinery.
Pete. l guess We amt asleep. we've
iist come onto bolt o calico which We
didn't think was in the pack: spose We
go down and inspect it:s''
As PETE walked down toward the
camp of miners, man. who seemed
about forty-fve Years of age. below
medium height and rather heavy set.
came To meet him. He had an hon
est countenance and mild though shrew
blue eyes. One had only to glance at him
to see that he was a thorough business
man.
wall say now said Pete. stop
ping within few feet of the smiling
stranger. and staring at him as if he
were ghost. .-ain' You q stranger in
these parts?"
Yes sir. the miner answered. IL
have been here but short time
What We doin'a''
..Prospecring."
"Prospec:in. what kind of goods is
that - asked Pete. removing his pipe
from his mouth.
Il am prospecting for lead and silver
ore